#mm worldbuilds

[themadmorrigan]

Anyway... Day

aka, MM made a map and wants to show it off. Polished version to come later, which will be done in Wonderdraft.

The lands that comprise Day are comprised of 5 separate courts, with the seat of power being either in Persepolis or Parthia, depending on the High Lord at the time and their preferences. Helion, being an academic, followed in the footsteps of Hyperion, and established his court in Persepolis. His ruling council is made up of the lords and ladies of each of the five courts.

The Court of Laurels - a seelie-aligned court of academics and scholars, nestled among the more Mediterranean climate of western Day. Persepolis, Day's capital city, is famed for its universities and museums. Persepolis was especially hard-hit by the Hybernian troops during Amarantha's stint as High Queen.

The Court of Clouds - a small, neutral court that exists both on the islands west of Day, as well as above them, quite literally in the clouds. This court features the highest concentration of elementals in Prythian, such as Gnomii (earth), Sylphs (air), and Salamanders (fire). (Undines, the water elementals, are found all over both coasts.)

The Court of Jackals - an unseelie court that takes up the north-central portion of Day. It's said that this court was once much more powerful; the ruins of a Collosus (or parts of one), abandoned canyon cities, and dungeons under the sand hint at a mysterious past. It also has a large number of nomadic fae that pass freely between the Court of Jackals and...

The Court of Sand - a mixed court (so both seelie and unseelie) that comprises the south-central portion of Day and the other half of what is called 'The Green Seam', a collection of oases, running along waterways that come out of the mountains to the north. Many Waters, its largest settlement, is where the nomadic fae of both the Court of Sand and the Court of Jackals overwinter, but it's also a large desert town in its own right and frequently trades downriver with Dawn.

The Court of the Golden Eagle - a seelie-aligned court comprising the eastern portion of Day. With a warmer, more humid climate, it's where most of the food in Day is grown, along with other staple crops such as cotton, olives, and pistachios. Parthia, the largest city on that coast, is a bustling metropolis that does heavy trade with the Continent.

[themadmorrigan]

Did a little worldbullding. Behold, my preliminary map for the Lands of Winter (aka, the Winter Court):

[themadmorrigan]

Next Neris author spotlight incoming soon!

Anyway, my Koschei thoughts: I won't say what they are explicitly but I WILL PROVIDE my inspiration, and see what people extrapolate from there. :)

Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher

Frankenstein: the modern Prometheus

Regina from Once Upon A Time

Fallen London

Various and sundry Slavic folklore

Enjoy!

The new chapter of The Harrowed and the Haunted - the story where elements of this tale come to light - drops this Tuesday! :)

[themadmorrigan]

Thinking on it...

Autumn Court glass and ceramics are probably TOP NOTCH and exceptionally valuable, and the latter is likely incorporated very artfully in places because, you know... you don't want your HOUSE to burn down when your toddler throws flames while having a tantrum.

[themadmorrigan]

Persuant to a post I made awhile back and fleshing out more of Autumn, I said that if people weren't careful, I would list some of the saints I came up with, venerated around Autumn and among the Most Venerable Order of the Crone. I mention some specific places in Autumn - the map below will show you where the River Spiriteaux is, and the Harvest Lands.

St. Marthe the Brave, patron of rivers - a Priestess who slew the Tarasque, the greatest of the river beasts that dwelled within the Riviere Spiriteaux. (Based off of the legend of St. Martha and the Tarasque!)

St. Belle the Clever, Lady of Autumn, Matron of Flame: a noble daughter who dressed as a male to defend the Autumn Lands, assembled a WILD crew of her fellow soldiers, and - with said wild crew and her supernatural horse - won back the fortune of the Autumn King as well as his favor. (Yes, it's VERY Mulan-like, but I based it off of the story of Belle-Belle of Le Chevalier Fortuné. Not mentioned but definitely present: St. Belle's antagonistic and [more than a little] sapphic relationship with the Autumn Queen.)

St. Romain the Kind, patron of mercy - formerly the lone seelie representative of the Autumn Land's ruling council [long story on that one], Romain was tasked with slaying the legendary Gargouille, a dragon, with the help of a condemned male (or so his Goddess-prompted dream told him). That male was…

St. Edmond the Condemned - a condemned prisoner who was pardoned by St. Romain while on death row and helped to entrap and slay the Gargouille. St. Edmond was granted clemency and joined the Most Venerable Order, whereupon he performed a number of miracles during the rest of his life. Some tales even say he ascended to the role of High Priest in his lifetime, which is nearly unheard of across all three aspects of the Mother. (Based off of the legend of St. Romanus and the Gargouille with a tiny dash of The Count of Monte Cristo thrown in.)

St. Ankou, the Father of Dust, patron of the dead and second chances. Especially venerated by those who worship the Crone. He was a cruel, boastful Autumn prince who literally met Death during a hunting trip and challenged him to see who could kill a black stag first; he bested Death, but was cursed to take his place for the rest of his years. He then spent the rest of his life trying to repent and performing miracles for the downtrodden. (Based off of the legend of the Ankou and the tales of Robert the Devil.)

St. Castile the Simple, patron of farmers - a simple man, he slew a wolf terrorizing the farmland of the Harvest Court that turned out to be a man, but was mauled in the process (based off of the tale of La Bête du Gévaudan, and the Loup Garou). He arose as a werewolf, but was blessed by the Mother to be able to control his transformations. He went on to defend the Court of Harvests as one of its mightiest warriors.

St. Bérénice the Devout - who outfoxed a giant owlbear that ate many young shepherds and shepherdesses and their flocks. The story goes that she priestess prayed for five days and managed to slip her necklace of prayer beads around the owlbear’s neck and lead the beast to the top of a nearby chapel where it was turned to stone – you can still see the statue today! Legend has it that, unable to eat handsome youths anymore, the owlbear devours the beauty of vain young males and females instead. (Based off of La Bête d’Angles.) There. Some worldbuilding! @flat-neines, I would very much like to see the early prythian lore you mentioned!

[themadmorrigan]

If you're all not careful, I'm gonna talk about the saints of the Autumn Court and no I haven't been reading T. Kingfisher, why are you looking at me that way?

(Ok maybe I have been, a little bit.)

(But I really did write saints into my lore of Autumn and the Venerable Order of the Crone.)

[themadmorrigan]

I can't get the image of Nesta being a horse girl out of my head, and was talking to @chelseamorninggirl about this... combined with Beron's love for racing, now I think I gotta make some fae horses (that aren't kelpies).

[themadmorrigan]

Another what if post, because I've had this one in the back of my mind forever:

Everyone characterizes Beron as this cold male who hates fun and only derives joy from torture and playing 'Kill the Courtier/Son/Lesser Fae' but here's what I would find more personally terrifying and interesting to read -

What if he LOVES fun? Yes, playing games with people and sowing discord and all that, sure, but also: what if Beron loved to dance? (Hence why at least Eris is so damn good at it?) What if he loves throwing grand soirees to show off his sweet-ass castle, his hot-ass wife, his seven (7)... okay four (4) remaining sons (because no one else has all that) and playing party games? What if he's a natty dresser, and encourages his family to do the same (because that's how one displays wealth and power)?

Oh, you want something other than parties? Sure. What if he breeds (expensive, rare) smokehounds in part to race them and enjoys betting? Same with horses. What if he frequents hunts and country get-togethers and... IDK, the fae equivalent of golf?

Since he loves fun and beautiful things, what if Beron is actually a patron of the arts, and some of the finest painters, dancers, sculptors and other artisans in Prythian come out of Autumn? What of the Forest House isn't the impenetrable fortress of a medieval Bond villain but actually a stunning piece of architecture?

I'm asking all of these what-ifs because if you think about it, THIS is a way more terrifying Beron-

The one who is the life of the party... until someone embarrasses him.

The one that other nobles both adore and fear because he's not boring like the last high lord but he's been known to burn a lord or eight alive from the inside out when he's lost a contest and is in a bad mood about it (but you can never tell which will be the case until it happens) or someone came in wearing the same outfit.

The one who is the reason the artisans are so fine - because he will not accept any less than the best from the painters, dancers, the sculptors, etc. of Autumn because to deliver less is to risk your head.

The one who would rather see a smokehound dead before giving one to another court, who doesn't tolerate runts or injured champions. You are the best, or you are nothing. Which, actually, extends to his children too. You rise to the top (Eris) or you're nothing - he didn't invest so much gold to feed, clothe, raise, and educate his children so they could be wastrel fools because there's no use for those at his court. Can you imagine how much that would fuck his kids up?

I didn't even mention lesser fae yet because, to Beron, why would anyone do that? If the Mother had seen fit to make them interesting or destined for better, she'd have made them High Fae. As it is, he knows they're there but they're to be neither seen nor heard. They're crucial for the economy (who else would mine and farm and spin and weave?), yes, but they have a place and it's not with him.

Anyway, I think more Berons should be like this.